Apple is reportedly developing an AI-powered search tool, internally known as 'World Knowledge Answers', to rival OpenAI and Perplexity. This system aims to transform Siri into an 'answer engine' by summarising information from across the web in a conversational style. The upgrade will go beyond Siri's current fact-checking capabilities, generating summaries that blend text, images, video, and local results.
Apple plans to integrate this technology into Siri, Safari, and Spotlight, offering multiple access points for AI-driven search. The underlying technology may incorporate Google's Gemini AI model. The new Siri and search changes are slated for release in iOS 26.4, expected as early as March. This move could reshape how billions of queries are handled on iPhones, potentially impacting the visibility of brands and businesses.
While the primary focus is on integrating AI search into existing features, Apple has also considered developing a standalone chatbot-style application. This would provide another avenue to compete directly with platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity.
